Maxim Grows Up

The magazine Maxim debuted not only a new look this week, but a new direction on content and a whole host of new advertisers.

It's a more mature take for the men's magazine, that has been historically called a "lad mag" with "frat boy" content and humor. The scantily clad women and the ads for chewing tobacco have been replaced with more fashion-oriented photography, articles on selecting beef from the local butcher, and ads from Marc Jacobs. Even the paper quality has been beefed up.

I guess the Maxim reader has grown up...so too must the publication in order to keep up. Sales have been on the decline, as with many in the genre (in fact two of its competitors closed down last year).

It'll be fascinating to see if the strategy works. In my initial read, the quality was certainly there and it felt like a fresher, younger take on the kind of content that older millennials and even their older peers might like. A younger GQ or Esquire?

Frat boy gone professional? Bachelor gone weekend host? Shorts and t-shirts gone layered sweater look?

Maybe. Time will tell. What's your experience? JIM.